Traces of Negative Theology in the Hebrew Bible
Despite its general ease in making affirmative statements about God, the Hebrew Bible also contains texts and traditions that can be regarded as containing traces of negative theology. Most important in this regard are the prohibition of images, the statement “I am who I am” (Ex 3:13), the narration...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | French |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Colin
[2020]
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| In: |
Revue de l'histoire des religions
Year: 2020, Volume: 237, Issue: 2, Pages: 239-257 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Old Testament
/ Negative theology
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| RelBib Classification: | FD Contextual theology HB Old Testament NBC Doctrine of God |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Despite its general ease in making affirmative statements about God, the Hebrew Bible also contains texts and traditions that can be regarded as containing traces of negative theology. Most important in this regard are the prohibition of images, the statement “I am who I am” (Ex 3:13), the narration about Moses only being allowed to see YHWH from behind (Ex 33), the story of Elijah at Mount Horeb and God’s unconventional theophany (1 Kgs 19), the tradition of YHWH’s incomparability, reflections on the human incapacity to discern God, and the juxtaposition of different metaphors about God. None of these texts and traditions deny the possibility of affirmative statements about God. However, they point to the inadequacy of affirmative statements about God and/or the incapacity of humans to fully understand God - traces of negative theology. Malgré ses affirmations positives sur Dieu, la Bible hébraïque contient des textes et des traditions qui peuvent être considérés comme les traces d’une théologie négative. On pense à l’interdiction des images divines, au récit contenant l’affirmation « je suis qui je suis » (Ex 3,13), celui ne permettant à Moïse que de contempler Dieu par derrière (Ex 33), ou encore la narration concernant Élie sur le mont Horeb (1 R 19), la tradition de l’incomparabilité divine, l’incapacité humaine de discerner, enfin la juxtaposition des différentes métaphores au sujet de Dieu. Ces textes ne dénient pas la possibilité d’énoncés positifs, mais ils soulignent l’inadéquation de ces énoncés, d’une part, et, d’autre part, l’incapacité humaine à pleinement saisir Dieu. |
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| ISSN: | 2105-2573 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Revue de l'histoire des religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.4000/rhr.10531 |